353 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

Chapter 353: "Damn it!" Logan had no desire to explore the insides of the monstrous snake, the size of which was unimaginable. In that crucial moment, he activated a power he had saved as a last resort. The Force Core in his heart expelled its ninth nucleus, and a golden light erupted from his crimson eyes. Instantly, he felt his soul elevate, and the entire structure of the monstrous snake that had swallowed him, along with the surrounding environment, became vividly clear in his mind. His depleted Force surged past its limit. Accompanied by a heightened sense of spiritual exaltation, an immense power began to overflow within him. Despite being a characteristic he had used countless times, the change felt unprecedented, as if he was experiencing something completely new. He realized the authority of 'interfering with space' through countless trials and had firmly grasped it upon reaching the highest echelon. He felt certain that he could wield that immense power as naturally as breathing. More than that, he was filled with confidence that he could even cut through that which did not exist. And what all this meant was... "Ora Master." It signified that he had, if only momentarily, stepped into that legendary realm. The space trembled just from focusing power into his hand. He could vividly sense the Force, drawn from his own lifeforce, dominating every surrounding space. He yearned to savor and engrave this omnipotence into his soul, but now was not the time. — Grrrrr. The undulating red walls, or rather, the inside of the snake’s mouth. His priority was to escape this frustrating space. Swoosh. It started with a faint sound. Logan’s sword was lightly swung. Soon, along the trajectory of that sword, the massive flesh split apart, and, as if in a miracle, sunlight streamed in. — Kyaaooo! The scream of the creature, seemingly distant yet so close, echoed from the sky. Ignoring its scream, Logan leapt out through the slice he made in the monster's skin. "About three minutes left." His body brimmed with energy, but his heart was urgent. He needed to find a place where he could lay down his soon-to-be exhausted body and rest. In this forbidden zone full of demons. Walking over the corpse of the fallen serpent, Logan leapt into the air, sprinting across empty space. Ora Master. Recreating the legendary realm wherein space could be controlled with minimal effort, right in the midst of an uninhabited magical domain. And yet. As Logan raced through the sky, a crimson pillar of light unexpectedly swept before him. Kwooooom! Bzzzzzz. A beam, with a thickness of surely over a meter and a lethal destructive force even at a glance, left a tingling wave as it obstructed his path. "What the!?" Logan's face contorted as he looked down at the ground, only to witness an utterly unbelievable sight. A colossal figure standing over 20 meters tall, with four pillar-like legs rooted into the ground. Despite its massive size, the seamless muscles stretching from the sharp claws of its four paws to the head gave it a nimble appearance. On its shoulders were three wolf heads, each with two pairs of gleaming eyes. The massive three-headed wolf gazing at Logan with its twelve eyes—momentarily. Swish. Suddenly, the intimidating monster shrank, and in its place appeared a silver wolf the size of a calf. Although still larger than an ordinary wolf, it was incomparable to the beast it had been moments ago. The 'normal wolf' with only a single head looked up at Logan in the air with its pair of eyes and let out a powerful howl. — Awooooo! The howling sound wasn't intimidating enough to dominate the surroundings. But to Logan's expanded senses, he could feel the demons, which had been bustling around, simultaneously retreating. The whole process was nothing short of wondrous, but now wasn't the time to merely admire such a spectacle. The wolf's howl seemed to convey another meaning to Logan that defied explanation. "Follow me?" He found himself chuckling bitterly at the thought, but the wolf, after glancing at him once, turned its head and began moving somewhere, as if needing no further persuasion. A wolf whose aloof and arrogant demeanor weirdly suited it. Logan watched it incredulously for a moment before moving toward the direction the wolf indicated. "The power..." The sensation of exhilaration began to fade. The Force was draining away. The duration for maintaining up(up) was nearing its end. At this moment, he could only rely on his uncertain instinct. Thinking as such, he landed on the ground, but his body, pushed to its limit, demanded recompense much sooner than expected. "Ugh!" Spinning. As his strength drained out like the tide, accompanied by the feeling of his soul shrinking, Logan emitted a pained groan. Falling to the cold ground, his consciousness dimming, Logan saw the red eyes approaching him. "No, damn it." Am I really going to die like this? In this absurd situation he had never imagined, Logan screamed internally. At that moment. — Awooooo! With another howl from the wolf, the approaching red eyes recoiled in shock and began to flee. That sight marked Logan's last memory of that day. * * * Thud. "Ugh..." Thud. "Mm..." Thud. "…Rick. Just a little longer…" A reminiscent feeling from some forgotten memory. Logan smiled and tried to brush away the servant waking him. 'Fur?' The texture on his hand felt odd. Just as he thought it felt soft like an animal's paw— Smack! "Oof!" Hit with a head-splitting impact, Logan rolled onto the cold "stone floor." The sudden sharp pain and cold surface jolted Logan awake, scrambling to lift himself. Swoosh. "Who is it?!" Hastily assuming a posture and drawing his sword, he faced a silver wolf the size of a calf, looking at him with disapproval. It was peculiar enough for the wolf to be glaring at him, but this sense of dissatisfaction seemed particularly bizarrely fitting to the presence before him. Perhaps because of that, it took Logan a moment to recognize that this wolf was, in fact, the creature he had seen in full form before losing consciousness. And in the aftermath: "You..." Logan's conscience wouldn't permit him to complain about being woken up a bit roughly by the creature that had saved his life. But speaking to the wolf seemed a bit ridiculous as well. "Hmm." Ultimately stuck in indecision, Logan merely furrowed his brow while the wolf suddenly snorted, turned its head, and stood up. Then it walked further inside the cold stone chamber. "Stone chamber?" Only then did Logan realize where he was and began to examine his surroundings. The stone chamber emanated a solid, gray ambiance. With a ceiling over 5 meters high, it was shaped into a smooth dome, and the floor and walls were devoid of any uneven surfaces, creating an immaculate space. This setting, which seemed certain to have been touched by human hands, left Logan puzzled. "This isn't the monster forest..." Feeling out the walls of the meticulously crafted stone chamber, Logan suddenly sensed something odd. The wall he leaned on didn't seem to be ordinary stone. Thud. Cupping his fist and tapping lightly confirmed it. Having recently encountered this sensation in a similar chamber helped him recognize it. "Ruins...?" He recalled the mysterious material composing the walls of the Zibrick Kassel ruins. An enigmatic structure that stood unscathed against the Seventh Form of the Divine Sword, 'Slice of Origin.' It felt akin to those walls. "Could this be a similar ruin to that place?" Although definitely smaller and without any patterns or murals like the Zibrick Kassel ruins, it felt remarkably similar. Bzzt. Thud! "Indeed..." Even a slight application of Oura confirmed it. The walls, impervious to the destructive Oura, demonstrated a resilience that was rare even among ancient materials. Feeling a renewed sense of uneasiness, he scanned his surroundings again, when a sharp noise pierced the air. "Woof!!" The wolf reappeared from the inner recesses where it had disappeared, barking sharply. Both its bark and expression carried an irritable vibe. Once again sensing human-like emotion in the wolf was curious, and as he pondered this, the wolf narrowed its eyes and gestured inward with its front paw. "Follow me?" "Woof!" The wolf barked again, almost as if confirming Logan's words. Despite his surroundings being nothing but somber gray walls, the wolf saved him—a complete stranger. "What on earth is this situation?" To uncover this mystery, Logan had no choice but to follow the wolf. The truth that great expectations can lead to great disappointment held firm. The stone chamber, initially suspected to be part of ancient ruins, was merely a slightly larger inner space. In house terms, it seemed the area where he awoke was like a guest room, and the current space was the master bedroom. The only significant difference was the altar-like structure inside. Atop it lay a single object that resembled a book. "Woof!" The wolf barked again in front of it. The bark seemed to beckon him closer, yet its expression was full of discontent. "What’s with being able to read the wolf’s emotions? Is the wolf unusual? Or have I become strange?" Even amidst the absurdity, the vivid recall of the splitting headache from earlier surfaced upon seeing the wolf’s expression. "...Do you have a problem with me?" He didn’t genuinely expect the wolf to understand, but seeing it snort and turn its head made him wonder if it had. Staring at it incredulously: "Woof!" It barked again, perhaps frustrated, and repeatedly pointed at the booklet with its nose. It seemed like it wanted him to read it. Finding himself engulfed in absurdity, Logan couldn’t help but chuckle before approaching the altar. The book atop the altar was unusual by any standard. Bound in a mysterious leather, it was thick, with strings that bore an unusual sheen, unlike normal thread. Dusting off the layer of settled dust, he saw the cover bore a singular ancient word. Written in an archaic style that predates the ancient languages he had studied. Knowing that what is often referred to as ancient language in contemporary times is merely a millennium old from the Great Migration, this volume appeared to be crafted in an even more ancient era. "Thankfully, although the style and vocabulary are slightly awkward, the script itself isn’t too different." Even better, he had once perfectly deciphered a manuscript from a similar period. “Indeed. The style is reminiscent of the Divine Sword secrets... The handwriting too...? No, that must be a coincidence.” Complex thoughts arose unbidden in his mind, but once he opened the book, Logan became absorbed in its contents, eyes widening in astonishment. The narrative began with the life story of an individual. A child, frail at birth. The child miraculously survived infancy—an age at which even healthy children succumbed to illness overnight. Despite contracting every conceivable ailment, recovery followed each time. The reason lay in the power accidentally acquired by his father, the Force. Following his father, a seasoned beast hunter, he trained his body, hunted, and fought monsters. Amid countless crises, he awakened to the Force, succeeding his father as a hunter. At that time, hunters were protectors of humanity against monsters. He was the protector of his village—not yet a tribe, but the emerging precursor to a community. Yet soon threats emerged. The boy, now a young warrior, battled incessantly to defend the village. Repeatedly repelling invaders from other races. However, attacks from inherently superior, magically potent higher races grew stronger. As the assaults intensified, villages allied, and a grand city rose as they strove to protect their haven. Within it, the young man attained the prestigious status of a Great Warrior, a guardian of the city. However, even with his determination, he couldn't completely overcome the crisis. The narrative of a single human's struggle to protect his family and kin in ancient times. Up to that point, the story seemed merely like an ordinary tale. Yet, the next lines made Logan's eyes widen in shock. His hands, holding the book, trembled slightly. "It is said... Force, which was once dismissed as an odd skill in the chaos caused by the rise of magic and holy laws, saved me. Naturally, I had no choice but to focus on that power to survive. Fifty years after the disappearance of the Arcane Saint, the fear that had restrained the other races began to wane, and they started to pressure humanity. This marked the greatest crisis for humans, who were just beginning to settle and advance. We were outmatched. The alliance of a few tribes couldn't withstand even a fraction of the factions from other races. Though we barely fended off the dwarves and repelled the lizardmen, the city fell to a mere hundred orc warriors led by an orc shaman. That was my first death. In the era when dragons disappeared and the dragonkin remained hidden, the advent of the Arcane Saint, who unified humanity, initiated the greatest golden age for humans. Even the elves, dwarves, lizardmen, and orcs, who regarded humans as a lower species, revered the Arcane Saint and his guards. Their fear of him was so profound that it continued to uphold humanity’s prominence even after the saint vanished. I was born in that transformative era when humanity transitioned from a life of constant wandering to settling down and farming, fleeing from monsters and other races."